Featured Issue: U.S. Immigration Courts under Trump 2.0
The U.S. immigration court system plays a critical role in upholding due process and ensuring fair hearings for individuals facing deportation. However, since January 20, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has implemented significant changes that challenge the structural integrity of these courts. This page aims to provide up-to-date information on the policy and legal shifts affecting the U.S. immigration court system.
Latest Updates
Updates from EOIR
Browse the Featured Issue: U.S. Immigration Courts under Trump 2.0 collection
CA4 Concludes That IJ Failed to Adequately Consider Therapist’s Letter in Denying Cancellation of Removal
The court held that the IJ failed to consider key portions of a therapist’s letter that was central to the petitioner’s argument that her removal would impose exceptional and extremely unusual hardship on her daughter for purposes of cancellation of removal. (Garcia Cortes v. Garland, 8/7/24)
CA1 Finds That Guatemalan Petitioner Failed to Prove He Was Persecuted “On Account Of” a Statutorily Protected Ground
The court held that substantial evidence supported the agency’s finding that the Guatemalan petitioner did not prove persecution “on account of” a protected ground pursuant to INA §101(a)(42)(A), and thus upheld the BIA’s and IJ’s denial of asylum. (Gonzalez-Arevalo v. Garland, 8/7/24)
Join the Recently Created Crimmigration Interest Group
The intersection of criminal law and immigration law has become fundamental since Padilla v. Kentucky. This interest group is for members who are interested in those discussions and resources. Join today!
Think Immigration: How Noncitizens Are Disadvantaged at Arraignments by “Neutral” Practices and Procedures
DEI Scholarship recipient Asmaa Hamadan describes how the criminal justice system is failing to guarantee noncitizens due process, writing “The system should be reformed to ensure that an individual’s situation is assessed holistically and not discriminate… for factors they cannot change.”
ICE Ends Free Phone Minutes Program Due to Budget Constraints
During COVID-19, ICE provided 520 free phone minutes monthly for detainees due to paused in-person visits. Post-pandemic, in-person visits resumed, and virtual attorney access expanded. To save $10.2 million and address budget constraints, ICE ended the phone minutes program.
CA7 Finds IJ Did Not Abuse His Discretion in Denying Continuance Where Counsel Was Unprepared for Hearing
The court held that the IJ did not abuse his discretion or violate the petitioners’ due process rights by refusing to continue their hearing, and found that it lacked jurisdiction to reach their ineffective assistance of counsel claim. (Bustos-Millan, et al. v. Garland, 8/6/24)
CA1 Says BIA Did Not Abuse Its Discretion in Finding Petitioner’s Bank Fraud Conspiracy Offense Was a Particularly Serious Crime
The court concluded that the BIA did not err in determining that the IJ adequately specified that the petitioner’s conviction for conspiracy to commit bank fraud was a particularly serious crime that rendered him ineligible for withholding of removal. (Lafortune v. Garland, 8/5/24)
CA9 Says Petitioner’s Past Harm Rose to Level of Persecution Where It Included Physical Beating Connected to Credible Threat (Withdrawn)
The court held that petitioner, a member of the Mann Party who faced death threats and a beating from members of an opposing political party in India, had showed that his past harm, when cumulatively considered, rose to the level of persecution. (Kumar v. Garland, 8/2/24, withdrawn 1/17/25)
ICE Guidance on Delegation of Parental Authority
ICE provides a “delegation of parental authority packet” that contains the appropriate forms to use for delegating parental rights to another person through “child” or “custodial” power of attorney.
CA9 Holds That Petitioner’s California Assault Conviction Was a Particularly Serious Crime
The court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in finding that petitioner’s assault conviction was a particularly serious crime rendering him ineligible for withholding relief, and that BIA did not err in denying his Convention Against Torture (CAT) claim. (G.C. v. Garland, 7/30/24)
Think Immigration: Court Conundrum: Omaha Immigration Court Frequently Compromises Due Process Rights
In this blog post, Kelly Shanahan highlights an ACLU of Nebraska report detailing due process concerns in Omaha immigration hearings, and urging readers to tell Congress to remove EOIR from the Department of Justice and establish an Article 1 independent immigration court system.
Practice Advisory: Seeking Release of Clients Detained in Virginia Under Rodriguez Guerra v. Perry Settlement
The NIP, Amica Center, and the ACLU of Virginia provide a practice advisory on a proposed agreement in Rodriguez Guerra v. Perry, a class action challenging ICE ERO Washington Field Office's failure to abide by ICE's policy to immediately review the custody of certain detained individuals.
CA9 Vacates Grant of Habeas Petition After Finding District Court Erred in Exercising Jurisdiction over Petition
The court held that the district court erroneously exercised jurisdiction over the habeas petition, because the petitioner did not name his immediate custodian as the respondent and filed his complaint outside of the judicial district where he was confined. (Doe v. Garland, et al., 7/29/24)
CA5 Upholds Asylum Denial to Petitioner Who Alleged She Suffered State-Sponsored Persecution in Angola
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s conclusion that the petitioner, who alleged that she had been persecuted by the Angolan government due to her father’s anti-corruption activities, had not suffered state-sponsored persecution. (L.N. v. Garland, 7/25/24)
Think Immigration: I Wish People Knew Our Immigration Laws Haven’t Aged Well
As part of our “One Thing” series, Sandra Feist highlights specific examples of how our immigration laws do not serve the interests of American businesses or communities well and calls on Congress to move forward with immigration reform that would be reflective of today’s realities.
CA3 Transfers Petitions for Review to Sixth Circuit After Finding IJ Completed Proceedings in Ohio
The court concluded that the IJ had completed the petitioner’s proceedings in Ohio, that venue was proper in the Sixth Circuit, and that it was in the interests of justice to transfer the three petitions for review to the Sixth Circuit. (Castillo v. Att’y Gen., 7/24/24)
CA9 Remands Asylum Claim for Reassessment of Credibility Ground as to Chinese Petitioner Allegedly Subjected to Forced Abortion
The court concluded that the agency’s credibility determination may have been affected by a misstatement of Chinese law that was a centerpiece of the government’s cross-examination of the petitioner at her removal hearing, and thus granted the petition for review. (Shen v. Garland, 7/24/24)
CA6 Holds That Substantial Evidence Supported Agency’s Denial of Hardship Waivers to Egyptian Petitioner
The court upheld the agency’s finding that the petitioner had not married in good faith or suffered extreme cruelty, and thus that she was ineligible for hardship waivers to the joint petition requirement to remove conditions on her permanent resident status. (Elgebaly v. Garland, 7/23/24)
CA7 Says It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review IJ’s Discretionary Denial of Mexican Petitioner’s Cancellation of Removal Application
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the IJ’s discretionary decision to deny the petitioner’s application for cancellation of removal under INA §240A(b)(1), and found that it lacked jurisdiction over the BIA’s review of that decision. (Sandoval Reynoso v. Garland, 7/23/24)
CA8 Finds Guatemalan Father of Three Children Failed to Satisfy Exceptional and Extremely Unusual Hardship Standard
On remand from the Supreme Court, the court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in determining that the petitioner had failed to satisfy the exceptional and extremely unusual hardship standard for purposes of cancellation of removal eligibility. (Gonzalez-Rivas v. Garland, 7/23/24)
CA9 Concludes That Petitioner Born in Mexico Was Not Eligible for Derivative Citizenship Based on INA §321(a)
The court determined that the petitioner was not eligible for derivative citizenship based on INA §321(a), and found that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s denial of Convention Against Torture (CAT) relief. (Colin-Villavicencio v. Garland, 7/23/24)
EOIR 60-Day Notice of Comments on Form EOIR-29A
EOIR 60-day notice for comments on Form EOIR-29A, Notice of Motion To Reconsider/Reopen a Decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals From an Initial Decision of a DHS Officer. Comments are due by 9/23/24. (89 FR 59773, 7/23/24)
Former Immigration Judges Strongly Support the Strengthening Immigration Procedure's Act of 2024
The Round Table of Former Immigration Judges applauded Senator Murphy for introducing the Strengthening Immigration Procedures Act of 2024, which would bring the standard needed to prove ineffective assistance of counsel in immigration cases into alignment with every other area of law.
AILA Sends Letter to Ensure Consistency and Fairness in Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Cases
AILA sent a letter to DOJ and DHS urging reform to the legal standard governing ineffective assistance of counsel claims in immigration matters.
Practice Alert: ICE Terminating Free Minutes for People in Detention
ICE is terminating the 520 free telephone minutes provided for people in detention during COVID-19. AILA members are encouraged to use ICE’s Virtual Attorney Visitation program and reminds members that they can request certain free phone calls under the PBNDS.